Chinese Prime Minister’s visit to Kenya reverberates across the East African region

CHINESE CONTRACTORS ASSURE PRESIDENT MUSEVENI THAT ENTEBBE HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION IS ON SCHEDULE

(Posted 11th May 2014)

As the Chinese Prime Minister Li Kequiang is visiting neighbouring Kenya have Chinese companies in Uganda also stepped up their charm offensive. A delegation of the China Communications Construction Group paid a courtesy call to President Museveni to brief him on progress made with the construction of the new Kampala to Entebbe Highway, which according to information given to the media will be ready as planned by mid to late 2016. Notably will the new highway project also construct one branch off near Kajjansi to link Uganda’s prime convention and conference facilities at Munyonyo with Entebbe, which on completion will reduce the journey to and from the airport to about half an hour for the 50 kilometres, compared to as many as two hours, due to traffic congestion, at present.

The company also expressed their desire, now that progress on the ground is visible along the route of the new highway, to be engaged in the construction of the new multilane highway from Kampala to Jinja, where a new bridge across the Nile is also being constructed courtesy of the Japanese government.

President Museveni also met the chairman of the Chinese Export-Import Bank, all part of a coordinated wave of visits by top Chinese business leaders who have come with their Prime Minister to East Africa and spread into the region to cement their growing influence and importance vis a vis construction and project financing.

Yesterday were major financing agreements and deals signed in Nairobi between the Kenyan and Chinese governments which does involve the building of the new standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Nairobi and then on to the Ugandan border, to Kampala and eventually to Kigali in Rwanda, where Chinese companies were chosen in Kenya to build the rail line from Mombasa to Tororo, while in Uganda contractual issues remain unsolved at this stage as to which company will actually build the Ugandan portion of the new line.

The presidents of the East African Community members Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania are in fact expected in Nairobi today to meet with the Chinese Prime Minister to discuss cooperation and projects of their own, which in the case of Uganda involve the construction of the new hydroelectric powerplant at Karuma as well as a number of other projects in the road and energy sector.